Ordinary Marathoner

The start of the Ordinary Marathon is only THREE days away! What better than to have the man who works behind the scenes, Scott Frasard as a guest on today’s podcast!

Over the past three years, Scott has worked diligently with us to bring you an incredible virtual racing experience. Whether it’s procuring top-quality medals, mailing race packets, putting out registration fires or even coming up with ideas for the race itself, Scott has been a valuable partner.

Today we sit down and discuss the things that make this race so special. I think we agree that in the end, the most special part of this race is its’ participants. That’s right! YOU are what makes this whole thing worthwhile. THANK YOU for joining us, for being conscientious participants, and for helping generate donations for The Samfund. You are a part of something truly special. And if you haven’t registered yet, registration is always open, so check it out at OrdinaryMarathon.com.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

A trying day trying to get podcasts done and workouts in yesterday. But it all worked out and the podcast just had to wait for today. Got a run in with the stroller and feel good that I’m headed in the right direction.

So psyched for all the buzz around this year’s Ordinary Marathon. Registrations are up recently and after a call with Samantha Watson, CEO of The SamFund, our excitement continues to build. This race is important for so many good reasons!

This Friday we will be having our first ZOOM discussion panel! We are bringing in triathlon coaches Laura Stebbins and Patrick Carey, along with Team Ordinary’s Official Dietitian, Allison Knott to answer all of your training and nutrition questions. Our first Happy Hour / “Ask Me Anything” Coaches Panel will be 7:30PM EST. Please check our Facebook Discussion Group for more details.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

He’s a monster on Zwift, a teacher, a parent, and if all goes well, a future Ironman. Mike Romans has been kicking around with Team Ordinary the past few months and we sure are glad to have people like him on our team. This week, he stops by to chat with us on his athletic journey and how he got involved in endurance sports. He’s got four kids, not including the ones in his classroom, and he’s making his way towards his first half Ironman. We wish him well!

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

After Monday’s poor performance in my 1-mile test, I’m itching to get back into run-training. My competitive self tells me to push forward with sprints, hills, long-distance. Working hard produces results.

And while yes, this is true, it is also key to realize the importance of working smart. Running places a lot of stress on the body – knees, bones, joints, muscles. Trying to make up all the ground I lost by doing challenging run-workouts right away could be a high-risk proposition. Inching into running, while supplementing it with challenging bike rides is a safer strategy that is just as likely to produce the ultimate results I’d like to see.

So, this week, I’m inching back into running with 3-4 mile runs. Nothing more. I’ve already started feeling some nagging soreness in my legs and I’m hyper-sensitive to monitor them for any signs of injury.

Zwift recently made some changes to their Meet-Up ride platforms. They are allowing for more people per ride (a new limit of 100 instead of 50). They also are allowing you to ride any course at any time, which is an excellent improvement. The Meet-Ups rides are certainly getting more and more popular. I’m getting invited to random rides, and inviting random people to my rides. So… it’s all in good fun!

Testing is now in the books. The results? Bike good, run bad. The good news is, now I have a full month to improve those results. And… I’m back on the early AM wake-up schedule. Now it’s time to get focused and get moving. Let’s get after it.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

The Ordinary Marathon is now less than a month-away. It is our annual 10-day virtual running event to raise money for The SamFund. We expect a great turnout this year.

Today’s topic is testing fitness. How often are you testing yourself? How are you testing yourself? If you don’t test, how do you know that your training is working?

I’ll go over some different testing we do with our runners and cyclists. What are the characteristics of a good test? How often should you test?

Then we’ll come full-circle and lay down the challenge. With less than a month to go before the Ordinary Marathon, how much better can you get?

I’ll be testing myself on a LiveStream FTP Ramp test tomorrow on our YouTube Channel at 1pm. Then I’ll be doing a 1-mile test over the weekend. After that, it’s a month of focused training – right up to (and through) the Ordinary Marathon. After the virtual race is complete, I’ll rest and recover for a day or two, then re-test. Then we’ll see how well the training works.

I invite you to come along for the ride. Test yourself this weekend. Post the results on our FB Discussion Group page, OR tag us on Twitter using #OrdinaryMarathon.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

Whether it’s mountain biking, road racing or triathlon, Patrick Carey has quite the active and athletic background. At Speed Science, he has dedicated himself to learning how to get the human body to move faster – whether on land, on a bike, or on the water. As a coach, his one-on-one style is very much like my own. There are no cookie-cutter approaches. Different athletes need attention in different areas, and it’s his job to find those areas and drill them until they improve. A great interview from an experienced endurance coach.

Check out the Speed Science webpage at SpeedScience.com.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

Hope you all are doing well out there. This new paradigm is throwing all kinds of new challenges, stresses and anxieties our way. Depending on lifestyle and circumstances, some people are affected more than others. For some, it might be very close to normal – get up, go to work, go home. Sure, there are less people around. Probably less traffic on your commute. But for others, EVERYTHING has changed.

After 30+ days of quasi-quarantine, have you been able to adjust? I, for one, am doing well in some areas and not-so-well in others. Training? Not bad. Pretty good, in fact. But I have had some issues sleeping and it’s throwing off my whole day.

The one thing I am starting to refocus on, however, are the things I am able to control. News cycles, local social distancing restrictions, race cancellations – there is nothing I can do about these things. What can I control? Well, I can control my actions and my attitude. And I plan on doing that to the best of my ability.

With the Ordinary Marathon only 30 days away, maybe it’s time to focus on the one race I KNOW will not be canceled. I hope you will join us.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

From the state that gave you most of the cast of Tiger King, this week’s guest is Erin Shepherd. Erin is no Ordinary Oklahoman mother, though. With virtually no running background whatsoever, she decided that she would do a marathon. Or two. Or three.

Don’t tell her she can’t do something, because it will only put you on her sh*tlist and set her out to prove you wrong. After three marathons, she’s now turning her focus to triathlon.

She’s hired the best coach in the biz (a certain podcast host), and is now training for Ironman Des Moines 70.3. In her long-term sights? Hmm… possibly Ironman Tulsa? As she trains for her mid-June race, COVID-related challenges have arose. No pools? State parks closing? Trails being patrolled by the police? Sure, these present obstacles. Who knows if the race will even go on under the current circumstances? But she trains nonetheless.

Eventually, we will all race again. Keep working. Stay safe.

Check out Erin’s Instagram page.

Join the Official Ordinary Marathoner team at TEAM ORDINARY!

Check out our homepage at www.ordinarymarathoner.com.

Or join the conversation at our Ordinary Marathoners Facebook Discussion Group.

I’ll also follow you back on Twitter if you follow me @OrdMarathoner.

Check out our annual virtual charity race, The Ordinary Marathon. Register early and be eligible for giveaways between now and race day.

What a crazy month. We are all dealing with the new paradigm, changing lifestyles and expanded vocabulary. Social distancing to “flatten the curve.” It goes beyond the fears of a disease we simply don’t understand. Many are dealing with job loss, reduced hours, challenging financial conditions, and simply making ends meet.

Time sure goes by fast. We’ve been at this for pretty much a month now. Estimates of when it will all end seem to only be expanding. Settle in, we could be at this for a while.

As runners and athletes, our races are being canceled and training is often challenging. How does a triathlete practice swimming when there are no open pools?

It’s time to take a breath and self-assess. How have you been doing? What habits have you developed? What challenges are you facing? How can you make things better… or at least more efficient? Let’s be patient with one another during this time. Stay disciplined. Stay focused. Help one another. We are going to get through this.